That’s as per alleged internal documents that have leaked following the ransomware hack recently suffered by the studio. One particular document from 2016 shared by a Reddit user suggests that Sunset Overdrive 2 had been in development at the studio since as far back as October 2015, and the plan was seemingly to begin pre-production on Sunset Overdrive 3 by October 2016, while continuing development on the second instalment.

Presumably, those plans were scrapped in favour of Marvel’s Spider-Man, which would have been in development around this time as well. The superhero game is not, however, mentioned anywhere in this specific leaked slide.

Insomniac’s data breach has also revealed that Sunset Overdrive sold just 1.9 million copies, with the studio itself making just a measly $567 off the title. With that in mind, it’s not difficult to understand why a sequel wasn’t exactly high on the list of priorities. Interestingly, it also looks like publishing rights for the next two potential sequels still lie with Microsoft.

On the other hand, the Spider-Man series has been ridiculously successful. The leaks have revealed that Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales has sold over 10.2 million units, while Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 sold 6.1 million units in a little over three weeks. Earlier this year, it was officially confirmed that the Spider-Man series had collectively sold over 33 million units.

As per the leaks, Insomniac is currently also working on Marvel’s Venom and Marvel’s Spider-Man 3, along with Marvel’s Wolverine, which will be the first instalment in an X-Men series. There’s also mention of a new Ratchet and Clank game, as well as a new IP at some point after 2030.

With Sony acquiring Insomniac Games in 2019, it owns the IP and registered a trademark for it in 2021. However, there hasn’t been a remaster, PS4/PS5 version or even talks of a sequel. You could chalk that up to the success of Marvel’s Spider-Man or the deal to work on X-Men titles.

However, as @eXtas1stv on Twitter discovered from the studio’s internal documents, Microsoft owns the rights to publish two sequels for Sunset Overdrive. These include “any associated DLC, ports and derivative games (e.g., mobile companion experiences, web-based experiences, and hand-held experiences).”

So, while Sony could authorize the development of a sequel, it would theoretically be published by Microsoft, which gets even messier when considering exclusivity. Microsoft hasn’t officially confirmed these publishing rights, and it remains to be seen how long it could be valid. Regardless, don’t expect a sequel announcement any time soon.

Keep in mind, while Insomniac could very well make a Sunset Overdrive 2 and release it on PlayStation, there is a fair amount to consider with that. For starters, this isn’t just any developer we’re talking about here, this is the developer behind multiple popular IP’s that have defined the PlayStation ecosystem for a long time. All the way back to Disruptor and Spyro on the PS1, to the Ratchet and Clank and Resistance games, and of course now with their blockbuster Spider-Man games, the developer has a fairly spotless record of always producing fantastic games that meet the challenge of their respective eras for PlayStation. Given that, would a Sunset Overdrive sequel really feel like another worthy chapter in their journey? Would going from the smash hits of Spider-Man and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart to a Sunset sequel really feel like a logical use of one of gaming’s most prominent developers’ time? I’m not so sure of that.

Sunset Overdrive is a cool game. There’s no doubt about that. But compared to the demand for more Ratchet, more Spider-Man, and even totally new IPs in general, there doesn’t seem to be much of a groundswell of support for a sequel to the Xbox One exclusive among PlayStation fans. Sure, you can find examples of people asking for it here and there, but if that were the standard for justifying the existence of games, then everything would be justified since you can find examples of demand for literally anything if you look for it online. But the truth is, from where I’m sitting, there really doesn’t seem to be much of an appetite for a Sunset sequel, especially among PlayStation fans who would generally be more excited for a sequel to something more familiar like the Resistance games, or literally any other franchise the studio has worked on. In fact, a port of Sunset Overdrive from the Xbox to PlayStation would probably make more sense first, seeing as how most PlayStation gamers haven’t even played the original, which brings me to my next point.

With the original being seemingly stuck on the Xbox, a sequel for PlayStation would feel a bit weird. Granted, there are examples of games getting sequels on other systems, and some of those examples have worked out relatively well for all parties involved, but it rarely works out in that franchise’s favor long-term. Requiring new fans of a series to go back and buy alternate hardware just to get a complete picture of a franchise they like because of a newer game is a tough sell no matter how great the game is. If PlayStation fans who never owned an Xbox One suddenly discover how much they enjoy Sunset Overdrive because of a sequel, but can’t go back and play the original without using a totally different machine to do so, it might not hurt sales for that sequel per se, but it is likely to create a ceiling for how much of a fan that PlayStation gamer could become given that the original game is probably too much of a pain to play. And if you couple that with the point, I made earlier about demand for other Insomniac franchises being much higher, Sunset Overdrive 2 for PS5 isn’t looking like a super compelling idea.

All that said, there are some notable upsides to the idea as well. It’s no secret that there are plenty of PlayStation gamers who expressed interest in Sunset Overdrive, and acknowledged that, had it been released on their console of choice, they would have certainly played it. And there is no debating the near-universal positivity that the game was received with. It ultimately ended up being one of the Xbox One’s best games. While it certainly didn’t eclipse many of the studio’s other games, it did more-or-less rise to their level, at least in terms of critical reception. So, it’s perfectly logical to assume that with Sony’s backing, a sequel could easily be just as good if not better. So even if most Insomniac fans would probably rather see something else out of the studio today, there’s no guarantee that their minds couldn’t be changed tomorrow with the right approach and the right marketing. It could even launch the franchise into a full-blown series if handled perfectly right.

Even still, bringing a sequel to a new ecosystem that lacks the original is still a dicey, narrow road to walk for any studio, and with how expensive AAA games are to make these days, it’s perhaps a risk that has more risk than reward in the eyes of Sony and Insomniac. If this gap could somehow be bridged with an official PlayStation release of the original game, that would be the best way to go about it. Release a souped-up version of the original on the PS5, gauge the interest from sales, and then decide if a full-blown sequel is possible. Maybe it would be, maybe it wouldn’t be, but as far as I can tell the best way to make that decision would be for that port to happen one way or another. Regardless of the result, there certainly is room for a Sunset Overdrive sequel in the PlayStation ecosystem.

With the somewhat more derivative line-up of third-person action-adventure games being churned out by Sony’s studios these days, and the likelihood of that conservative approach biting them one day continuing to slowly grow, something as imaginative as Sunset Overdrive could serve as a great shot in the arm for the ecosystem as a whole. The appeal of a Sunset Overdrive sequel is certainly there, and there are unquestionably people out there who would be interested in it. The catch is whether or not reintroducing that franchise to a different ecosystem while forsaking other, more sure-fire projects that the studio could just as easily be working on is worth it for Sony. Given the way things are going currently for the company, where rocking the boat isn’t really in their agenda as of late, I’d say the proposition is unlikely at best in the near future.

Insomniac Games has always been regarded as one of the better developers out there, especially following the massive success of Spider-Man on PS4. The open world title sold a whopping 13.7 million units worldwide as of August 2019. Ever since Sony acquired the developer, the question has always been: Spider-Man 2 when?

With the PS5 reveal event coming up, it seemed somewhat likely that a teaser for the sequel would be showcased. When asked about the same, according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier on Twitter, “Insomniac’s got another game coming first!” The tweet was deleted afterwards and that only makes us all the more convinced that it’s legitimate.

Disappointing as it may be for some people, this isn’t all that strange. Sony acknowledged that it owns the rights to “past Insomniac Games works”, including Sunset Overdrive. Insomniac has been known for its Ratchet and Clank franchise on PlayStation consoles throughout history so a new title certainly seems likely.

However, some will ask: What if Sunset Overdrive 2 is announced? When will Spider-Man 2, if it’s currently in the works, be revealed? Regardless, the PS5 reveal event is slated for 1 PM PDT today so stay tuned for more details.

Insomniac Games have spoken earlier about how they would be open to working on another licensed game, but that’s not all they’re looking at. Sunset Overdrive on the Xbox One was an original IP created by themselves in partnership with Microsoft, and it’s an underrated gem that a lot of people would love to see a sequel to. As it turns out, Insomniac would love to make one as well.

Insomniac Games’ CEO Ted Price talked about how once you’ve started an IP, you’ve already made the most difficult decisions. He said, “I think one of the great things about starting a franchise and having the opportunity to make sequels, is that you’ve, in many cases, made the hardest decisions already,” he said while speaking with IGN.

Of course, since the difficult decisions have already been made, the developers can then focus upon improving various things with a sequel. “When you establish an IP, you now know what the tone is, you know what the character is, you know what the core mechanics are that work,” said Price. “You know what players liked and didn’t like so, doing a sequel for any game, be it Sunset Overdrive or something else, is an opportunity to deliver something to fans that’s significantly better than the original, and that’s something that I think we [at Insomniac] would love to do someday.”

Furthermore, there are a lot of factors at play which determine the possibility for a sequel to get made, but it’s clear that a lot of fans would love to see a Sunset Overdrive 2. Regarding this, Price stated, “For us, it’s a timing challenge. It’s a bandwidth challenge but, I do, to your point, feel like there are a lot of people out there who love Sunset, and we’ve certainly been asked, frequently, by fans.”

Ultimately, that is a decision that rests with Insomniac, who, in spite of Microsoft publishing the first game, retain the rights to the IP. It is something, indeed, that they’ve talked about in the past too, so here’s hoping it ends up happening at some point in the future.

There have been just way too many high profile leaks for games in the last few weeks and months, but perhaps the one that had fans excited the most, and the only one that sadly didn’t get confirmed as reality, was a new Splinter Cell game. It was one of the games that was leaked by Walmart Canada ahead of E3 2018, with many people expecting that an announcement would be coming at Ubisoft’s press conference, but while almost every other game that was part of the leak was confirmed during E3, Splinter Cell remained absent.

We’re hearing more about the game now. As spotted by a user on forum ResetEra, Amazon Italy put up three listings for the game (one each for Xbox One, PS4, and PC versions), though it seems that the listings have since been removed. We’re not really sure what this means- whether or not this signifies that Amazon Italy have some knowledge about stuff that we don’t that they somehow let slip isn’t something I can say for sure. What I can say is that there’s no smoke without fire, and as far as a new Splinter Cell game is concerned, there’s been a lot of smoke lately. Come on, Ubisoft, spit it out already.

It doesn’t end there, though. Two more pretty high profile games that were listed by Amazon Italy were Sunset Overdrive 2 and Bloodborne 2. However, just like Splinter Cell, both these listings have also been taken down. I have to say, though, that these two seem quite unlikely. Especially Bloodborne 2, because while such an announcement would undoubtedly be the stuff of dreams, From Software just have too much on their plate already, with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and VR title Deracine already in development.

There’s some other noteworthy stuff coming out of Amazon Italy as well. On their listing of the upcoming Media Molecule developed Dreams, you’ll see that they’ve mentioned February 22nd of 2019 as the game’s release date (UPDATE: This page also seems to have been taken down by Amazon Italy). Again, this seems unlikely, because Sony already have another major first party exclusive, namely Days Gone, scheduled for launch that very day. I just don’t see how it’s likely that Sony will be launching two of their upcoming exclusives on the exact same day.

So yeah, take all this with a grain of salt. It seems unlikely that Sunset Overdrive 2 and Bloodborne 2 are a thing – for now, at least – while the release date mentioned for Dreams also seems quite unlikely. The Splinter Cell listing, too, might just be based on all the recent speculation, but you never know. Either way, stick with GamingBolt and we’ll keep you updated.

Rumours, as they usually do, run rampant around E3 season. One such rumour by Reddit user SoMeh pointed to Fallout 76 – with that exact name – being announced. The user then later said that at E3 2018, Microsoft would be announcing a “new Gears, Forza Horizon 4, Halo and Sunset Overdrive 2“.

Now, obviously there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical. A new Gears, Forza Horizon 4 and the next Halo aren’t tough predictions – even if one of them isn’t announced, we kind of know they’re in development. However, Sunset Overdrive 2 seems like an anomaly. Given the number of years since the first game launched and Insomniac’s work on Spider-Man, could it actually be happening.

It doesn’t seem to be the case according to Waypoint senior reporter Patrick Klepek (who’s also a former Giant Bomb news editor). Klepek said on Twitter that Sunset Overdrive 2 “isn’t happening right now”. “I poke around about this game all the time” said Klepek, noting it to be a favourite this generation, “And desperately asked for a sequel. It’s not in development.”

Obviously there’s a lot to take with a grain of salt from both sides. For now, we’d ask you to remain skeptical and take the announcements as they come. Microsoft’s E3 2018 presser is scheduled for June 10th.

https://twitter.com/patrickklepek/status/1001925992619872257

Of the many games that stuck out during the initial Xbox One era, Insomniac’s Sunset Overdrive is perhaps one of the most unorthodox. The game’s mesh of crazy aesthetics, mutant killing and high octane shooting fueled by a fast movement system went down incredibly well with fans and critics. However, despite hardcore fans wanting a sequel, Insomniac hasn’t been able to make it happen.

In a recent Twitch stream, Insomniac founder and CEO Ted Price did note that if Sunset Overdrive 2 ever happening, it would require a new publisher. One with enough clout to recognize the game’s larger vision would be required as well.

“Sunset is something that I know a lot of our fans talk about wanting to see the sequel. We need a partner for that. That’s a big game; Sunset 2 would be a very large-scope game.”

Though Microsoft published the first game, Insomniac still owns the IP and could potentially go multi-platform under someone else. The fact that Microsoft hasn’t done anything to assure a sequel to Sunset Overdrive should tell you how interested they are in making it happen. We can still dream though.